Marcus and Ruth looked at each other. “You haven’t been here,” Ruth said carefully. “You’re welcome to come, but you don’t need to.”
Either the house had no airflow, or Clover was boiling from the inside out, her anger a tangible thing. “I am the future queen, and you think it’s acceptable for me to miss a meeting while I’m here?”
“Now, little mouse,” her father began, but before Clover could tell him to shove that nickname up his ass, the front door exploded inward.
Amos stepped through like something carved from violence, searching until his gaze found Clover. After looking her over, he turned to Marcus and Ruth. “What the fuck did you do to her?”
Clover couldn’t decide if feeling each other’s emotions through the bond was a blessing or a curse.“I’m handling it,” she interjected, daring him to undermine her.
Amos ground his teeth together and walked to stand behind her. “Then handle it, little viper.”
With renewed indignation, she turned a stern glare on her father. “I will be at every Hydra meeting held while I’m in Dragon Village. If I’m to run this kingdom, I need to be informed.”
Amos shifted behind her, and she felt his potent desire through the bond. She twisted to look at him. “Really?”
He winked. “I like it when you yell.” His eyes trailed down her body, the easy smile on his face falling away. “Why aren’t you wearing clothes?”
“Unless you had clothes made for me that won’t bake me alive, this is what I’m wearing,” she informed him. “Now that we’ve established I’ll be attending the meeting in my pretty new dress, can we go?”
“I don’t think we can call you mouse anymore,” her father laughed. “You speak too much now.”
Ruth smiled knowingly and motioned to Amos. “Someone has to shut the prince up.”
Walking into the Hydra meeting, Clover felt a sense of pride as she looked at the new and old faces around the room. She’d attended these before as a child, but today, she attended as an equal. As their future queen.
Sariah glanced at Clover’s dress. “You should have kept my clothes on.”
Clover looked down at her dress, and a small voice said, “I think it looks cute with the boots.”
She looked around until she spotted a young girl around ten years old grinning at her. The little girl’s beige skin had a pink tint from the sun, and the sprinkle of freckles on her nose matched her light brown hair perfectly.
“Thank you,” Clover said, walking over. “I’m Clover.”
She held her hand out and the girl shook it without hesitation. “I’m Marjorie Rose Bennett, but you can call me Marjorie.”
Clover’s eyes bulged. “Baby Marge?” Her eyes searched the room until they landed on Trinity. Marjorie’s mother had been a sacrifice. No one had known she was pregnant when they sacrificed her, not even her. Unfortunately, Marjorie’s mother died in childbirth, and the other sacrifices had raised the baby in the den without letting the crown know she existed.
“I’ve known you since you were born,” Clover told her with a wide smile. “The last time I saw you, you were only this tall.” She held her hand down near her knee. “You’re practically grown now.”
Marjorie pulled her little shoulders back and lifted her chin. “I bested Thomas in a spar,” she said proudly.
“Thomas?” Clover echoed, and looked around for her old friend. When she found him across the room, he did a small salute.
“That’s right,” he said. “Little bit took me out at the knees.”
Thomas had always been handsome, even as a boy. He stood around six feet with light brown skin, black hair, and golden eyes. As a girl, she’d thought they would get married. Now she simply saw a friend she’d grown up with.
A hand clamped over her eyes, and Amos’ lips grazed her ear. “If you keep staring at him, I will kill him.”
She harrumphed and tried to pry his hand away from her face. “You’re ridiculous,” she whispered back.
He released her, pressed his chest to her back, and settled a hand possessively on her hip. “And stop glaring at him,” she hissed over her shoulder.
“You can’t even see my face,” Amos argued.
“Don’t you have a mate?” Thomas asked, silencing the entire room.
Oh, fucking hell. Amos had briefed her on the way over. Apparently, no one knew about Amelia or that Clover was his mate. Had she known he would act like a territorial beast in front of everyone, she would have told him to stay outside.
